Boats on Handsworth Park pond, Birmingham

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

has 591 parks and open spaces, totalling over , more than any other equivalent sized European city. The centrepieces of Birmingham's park system are the five Premier Parks. Fifteen parks have received the prestigious

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

. The city also has five local nature reserves, one national nature reserve and a number of Wildlife Trust nature reserves. One of Birmingham's most popular parks is

Cannon Hill Park Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, England. It is the most popular park in the city, covering consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas. Recreational activities at the park include boating, fishing, bowls ...

which covers consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas. Recreational activities at the park include boating, fishing, bowls, tennis, putting and picnic areas. The largest of the parks is Sutton Park covering making it the largest urban nature reserve in Europe. Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a Victorian creation, with a conservatory and bandstand, close to the city centre. The Winterbourne Botanic Garden, maintained by the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, is also located close to the city centre.

History of public parks

Public parks emerged in the 1830s to improve the health of the working classes living in the over-crowded conditions of the rapidly growing industrial town. It was hoped that parks would reduce disease, crime, and social unrest, as well as providing “green lungs” for the city and areas for recreation. Most of the land for public parks were either purchased by town councils or donated as gifts. A number of parks were created to commemorate a special occasion, such as the Queen’s Jubilees such as

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

and Queens Park. Even the area around the NEC has free public park areas where wildlife and Lilly ponds thrive

Premier parks

Handsworth Park Handsworth Park (originally Victoria Park) is a park in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. It lies 15 minutes by bus from the centre of Birmingham and comprises 63 acres (25 hectares) of landscaped grass slopes, including a large boat ...

Kings Heath Park Kings Heath Park is a Green Flag status park in the Kings Heath district of Birmingham, England, which is managed by Birmingham City Council. For a time, the park was used as the setting for the popular ATV programme ''Gardening Today''. Hi ...

Lickey Hills The Lickey Hills (known locally as simply ''The Lickeys'') are a range of hills in Worcestershire, England, to the south-west of the centre of Birmingham near the villages of Lickey, Cofton Hackett and Barnt Green. The hills are a popular countr ...

* Sutton Park The City's horticultural training facility at King's Heath Park is paired up with Pershore College.

Nature Reserves

Birmingham EcoPark The Birmingham EcoPark is an environmental education centre in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, England, operated by the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is a wildlife ...

* Bromwich Wood Local Nature Reserve * Harborne Nature Reserve *

Hill Hook Local Nature Reserve Hill Hook is an area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The area includes Hill Hook Local Nature Reserve, declared in 2003 with an area of 5.65 hectares, which is on the site of a watermill built in the 17th century. An earlier dam showed ...

* Kings Norton Local Nature Reserve * Moseley Bog Local Nature Reserve *

Park Hall Nature Reserve Park Hall was a Wildlife Trust nature reserve in Birmingham England, until it was taken possession of by HS2. The site lies between the M6 motorway and Castle Vale in the east of Birmingham. It comprises flood plain grassland, wetland and pool ...

* Plants Brook Local Nature Reserve * Queslett Local Nature Reserve * Rubery Cutting Local Nature Reserve * Sutton Park National Nature Reserve

Public squares

The city centre includes numerous public squares among them are

Centenary Square Centenary Square is a public square on the north side of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, named in 1989 to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status. The area was an industrial area of small workshops and canal wharves ...

Chamberlain Square Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England, named after statesman and notable mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain. The Victorian square was drastically remodelled in the 1970s, with most of th ...

and Victoria Square. The historic Old Square is located on Corporation Street. Rotunda Square and St Martin's Square are two of the newest squares in Birmingham, being located within the Bullring Shopping Centre.

Brindleyplace Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It was named after Brindley Place, the name of the street (in turn named after the 18th century canal engineer James Brindley) around whi ...

also consists of three squares and the National Sea Life Centre.

Birmingham Parks Strategy

On November 27, 2006, Birmingham City Council Cabinet received a comprehensive set of documents describing a Parks Strategy for the city,Birmingham City Council Parks Strategy
/ref> ambitious in its intention to meet Government priorities, formally marking the end of a long period of neglect of urban parks. At the beginning of a list of objectives the document says the strategy will ensure that "a network of high quality parks and other green spaces are provided for Birmingham's citizens and visitors".

References

{{reflist

External links

Birmingham Open Spaces Forum